Decentralized cost-optimized renewable systems to increase the electrification of households: The case of Cameroon

Esther Prudence Jouégo

Abschlussarbeit (01.10.2014)

To develop the huge renewable energy potential of Cameroon through implementation of decentralized electrification systems, a reliable and realistic view on the cost-optimization related to the installation of these systems is crucial. However it is not yet known how far these systems could take up the slack in electrification of households. Of course peer review estimates the hydropower potential of the country, describes and analyzes to which extend energy consumption arouse economic growth. Nonetheless to stimulate economic growth through the rise of energy consumption related technological and financial requirement need to be discovered and geographic areas of the country where decentralized renewable energy systems are cost-optimized need to be ascertained. Mapping such information throws light on some challenges that the country has to face to bring ‘green light’ anywhere under its sky. After setting forth the context of households electricity access in Cameroon, the current thesis applies the energy costing tool to the households electrification needs to set up technological and financial requirement enabling the reach of a full-scale electrification in Cameroon in a faster and sustainable form, combines the one-hour model with GIS analysis to simulate and plot decentralized cost-optimized PV-Wind systems with battery storage and assesses the local yearly gross hydropower potential of each river of Cameroon based on the available river measured data and the simulated data of the WaterGAP model. These are core information to develop the renewable energy market of the country.